Maryland/DC Credit Union Association and Cooperative Credit Union Association team up to deliver powerful volunteer leadership conference
WASHINGTON, DC (November 21, 2017) — Showing the true cooperative nature of Leagues, the Cooperative Credit Union Association and the Maryland/DC Credit Union Association jointly hosted their flagship Volunteer Leadership Conference (VLC) over the weekend to continue their efforts to educate credit union volunteers.
Credit union volunteers from Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia gathered in Ocean City, Maryland over the weekend for the 2017 VLC, which covered a number of core issues volunteers need to be aware of as they set the strategic direction of their credit unions.
“The Volunteer Leadership Conference is another example of how collaboration among Leagues results in more value for credit unions,” said Brad Miller, executive director of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues. “The individual resources of the Cooperative Credit Union Association and the Maryland/ DC Credit Union Association come together for the important task of educating credit union volunteers.”
The event kicked off with annual Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) training for the volunteers Friday afternoon. André Lucas, director of compliance with the MD|DC CUA, provided updates and insights into requirements of Customer Identification and other aspects of the PATRIOT Act. The National Credit Union Administration stresses that every credit union should perform BSA training, and all VLC volunteer attendees of that session will receive certification of attendance.
Saturday’s main general session kicked off with opening remarks from John Bratsakis, MD|DC CUA president/CEO, and Paul Gentile, CCUA president/CEO. They were followed by an entertaining and educational keynote from Gene Marks, Washington Post columnist, author and founder of the Marks Group PC. Gentile then returned to provide a wide-ranging industry update that took attendees through the latest industry statistics, as well as a regulatory, legislative and consumer trends update. Bratsakis followed that with an engaging session on consumer awareness and an update on a CUNA-led awareness initiative. In the spirit of the volunteer-focused event, longtime credit union volunteer Dave Gilbert of Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union, Aberdeen, MD, was honored for his extraordinary leadership over a 48-year span of Volunteer Service.
The afternoon was filled with a selection of educational sessions on a variety of topics from guest speakers:
- Don’t the Millennials Want What We All Want?
- Bill Nagle, SVP Professional Development, CCUA
- Litigation Trends that Don’t Suit Your Credit Union
- Ken Otsuka, Senior Consultant, Business Protection Risk Management, CUNA Mutual Group
- Enterprise Risk Management
- Charlotte Whatley, VP Compliance Services, CCUA
- Supervisory Committee Training
- Ashley Beach, Associate, Litigation Department, Fox Rothschild LLP
- Bank Secrecy Act Training
- André Lucas, Director of Compliance, MD|DC CUA
The event closed with a forward-thinking presentation from Mark Sievewright, CEO Sievewright & Associates. Sievewright predicted that the biggest shift in technology since the internet will be the convergence of artificial intelligence with mobile technology, creating conversational intelligence with the machines in our lives. He closed out the event by challenging credit unions to make the move from being traditional to being digital to not only survive but thrive in the coming years. Event sponsors included CUNA Mutual Group and Pennsylvania’s RKL, LLP – a financially oriented professional services firm.
The Cooperative Credit Union Association and the Maryland/DC Credit Union Association will team up next with a collaboration on CU Accelerate, an event focused for credit union leaders of all levels, to be hosted at the Gaylord Resort in National Harbor, Md., on April 13-15. CU Accelerate is a long-running program of CCUA that focuses on all aspects of member engagement to help credit unions grow. The two associations are partnering this year to make this engaging program open to even more credit union leaders.
(From Left): CCUA President Paul Gentile, Aberdeen Proving Ground FCU Director Emeritus Dave Gilbert, and MD/DCCUA President John Bratsakis. Gilbert was recognized for his outstanding leadership during his 48-years of service as a credit union volunteer, which included a number of terms volunteering on national and state credit union associations.
About American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL)
The American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL) is the national association for the state and regional credit union leagues/associations throughout the United States. AACUL’s mission is to cultivate the success of individual leagues as well as the collective League System by supporting league efforts to advocate, communicate, collaborate and influence policy on behalf of credit unions nationwide. We partner with CUNA to foster the CUNA-League System relationship and the prosperity of the credit union movement.
